One Tank Trip: Empire Ranch keeps ranching history alive 140 years later

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Empire Ranch is a historic ranch house just north of Sonoita that has a rich history.

"People get to step back in time. They get to feel like they're of that old time. You know, you expect John Wayne to come riding his horse through here," says Faith Boice McCabe, the president of the Empire Ranch Foundation.

The foundation is a non-profit that relies on volunteer hours to help keep the ranch alive.

And Boice McCabe has ties to the ranch that go deeper than just her 8 years spent as foundation president.

“We owned this ranch for three generations. So my grandfather was raised here from toddler hood. My dad was raised here until he was in his mid 20s, and I was five months old when we moved off this ranch," said Boice McCabe.

The ranch was founded in 1876 by Walter Lennox Vail and Herbert R. Hislop.

And the Boice's sold the land in 1969.

But animals still live on the over 45,000 acres of land on the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area.

The Ranch also hosts events year round including National Day of the Cowboy and Christmas at Empire Ranch.

The ranch is open to the public dawn to dusk, 365 days of the year.

You can also reserve docent-led tourson the second Saturday of each month.